Falling Upwards
by Pandora151
Summary: Obi-Wan woke up and stared at the ceiling. Why was he lying on the floor? He didn't exactly remember how he ended up here. He remembered returning to the apartment after a long Council meeting. He remembered thinking about making himself some tea because of the headache that pounded in his skull. He could still feel it.


**A/N:** Hello! I wrote and posted this on Tumblr in October 2018 for Whumptober, and I've decided to cross-post some of my favorite whumpfics that I've written for Whumptober and Whumpmas (which I'm still working on *coughs*)

Anyways, enjoy! :)

* * *

Obi-Wan woke up and stared at the ceiling.

Why was he lying on the floor?

He didn't exactly remember how he ended up here. He remembered returning to the apartment after a long Council meeting. He remembered thinking about making himself some tea because of the headache that pounded in his skull.

He could still feel it.

Obi-Wan sat up, and immediately the world tilted around him. He gagged, surged to his feet, and stumbled over to the sink. He vomited, barely managing to keep himself upright with trembling arms.

When he finished, the world blurred around him. He turned on the faucet and carefully rinsed his face off. His headaches were relentless these days, and they felt _different_.

Maybe it was the war. He needed a break, he knew it, but who had time for any of that?

There was so much that he needed to do. He didn't have time for all of this.

Obi-Wan turned off the faucet and used a kitchen towel to wipe the water off his face. Then he paused.

There was something he was supposed to do once he returned from the meeting. He couldn't remember what it was.

He told someone, probably one of the Councillors, that he would do something for them once he got back to his apartment. Obi-Wan looked up, seeing a pile of broken datapads on the floor next to where he woke up.

He blinked, and the kitchen blurred again.

Obi-Wan took a faltering step forward, and the stabbing pain in his temples _pulsed_. He gasped and pitched forward, barely managing to catch himself with his hands as he collapsed to the ground.

His hands felt numb. His vision was still blurry, almost stubbornly so. He felt nauseous and weak and generally _terrible_. And he couldn't think with this headache.

Something was _wrong_.

Obi-Wan licked his lips and carefully reached for his commlink on his belt. His hands trembled with the effort.

He pressed a button and waited.

 _"Healer's Ward, how may I help you?"_ a pleasant-sounding voice chirped.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to reply.

Nothing came out.

 _"Hello?"_ the voice repeated, sounding confused.

Obi-Wan struggled to speak, but the sounds he was making weren't loud or coherent enough to be heard. The effort was sending agony into his skull, and the pain was relentless, terrible.

 _"Fourth time this week,"_ the voice muttered, sounding exasperated, before hanging up.

"No," Obi-Wan finally managed in a hoarse whisper. He sighed and let the Force take him back into oblivion.

Everything turned black.

* * *

The Force was tense.

Anakin walked back with Ahsoka to the apartment, talking quietly.

They spent a good few hours training, and Ahsoka enjoyed every moment of it. He wished Obi-Wan was there to help Ahsoka with her jar'kai. Obi-Wan was better at jar'kai than Anakin (not that Anakin would admit it), but he would admit that Obi-Wan was better at teaching jar'kai than Anakin.

As they got closer and closer to the apartment, the Force seemed to shiver and press against him, almost sickeningly.

"Is something wrong?" Ahsoka asked suddenly.

"You feel that, too?" Anakin said, frowning.

Ahsoka shrugged.

They finally reached the apartment. Anakin punched in the codes and walked in.

"Obi-Wan?" he called. He assumed the Council meeting would have been over by now, but then again, the Council has held ridiculously long meetings in the past. He distantly remembered Obi-Wan trudging back into the apartment after being in the Council Chambers for well over 2 rotations.

No reply.

Ahsoka shrugged. "I guess he's not here," she mused.

Anakin nodded and walked towards the kitchen. He hoped there was actual food in the kitchen, as opposed to tea and caf and the occasional piece of bread.

Anakin walked into the kitchen, Ahsoka right behind him.

His heart dropped to his stomach.

"Call the healers," Anakin said to Ahsoka, carefully keeping his voice level. He needed to be calm. He couldn't _not_ be calm.

Obi-Wan was lying on the floor, on his side, facing away from Anakin.

Anakin cursed and crouched down next to Obi-Wan, gently rolling him onto his back.

"Obi-Wan?" he said, carefully shaking Obi-Wan's shoulder.

Obi-Wan frowned and let out a strangled moan before his eyes opened. He mumbled something unintelligible.

Ahsoka kneeled on Obi-Wan's other side, eyes wide and teary. "They're coming," she told them.

Obi-Wan shuddered and pressed a shaking hand to his skull. There were tears in his eyes.

"I…I can't…" Obi-Wan mumbled. He paused and frowned at Anakin. "Why?" he slurred.

"Why what?" Anakin asked, confused.

Obi-Wan didn't reply except to squeeze his eyes shut and tremble.

Anakin heard the apartment door open, as Healers bustled into the kitchen.

He stood on shaking legs and watched as Obi-Wan was carefully lifted onto a hover-stretcher and taken away.

* * *

Anakin and Ahsoka sat in the waiting room of the Ward, waiting for some news, _any_ news.

Ahsoka was beginning to nod off in her chair, but she refused to leave.

Anakin appreciated that. He didn't know what would happen if he was left alone, waiting.

Two hours after they arrived to the Ward, Master Che came out to speak with them.

She looked…exhausted.

"Let's talk in my office," she suggested, looking carefully at both Anakin and Ahsoka.

Anakin nodded and followed the healer to her office.

Once they were inside, Master Che sighed and sat down at her desk.

"So," Master Che said before Anakin and Ahsoka could say anything. "Master Kenobi has a brain tumor."

Anakin blinked.

"What?" he managed.

Ahsoka looked just as shoked as he felt.

"Thankfully, it's not malignant," she continued. "We can operate, but it will not be easy on him, and there's a large chance that it will result in him having to give up being an active Jedi."

Anakin swallowed. "What do you mean?" he asked.

The healer sighed.

"The tumor is in a part of his brain that is not easy to operate on, even for droids," she explained. "There is a chance that the surgery might cause permanent damage."

"But…" Anakin found himself struggling for words. "But the war, he…"

Master Che nodded. "I know. I haven't informed the Council yet, but this will change everything," she said softly. "Even if he makes it through the surgery without any damage, he will need at least two months' recovery time."

Ahsoka bit her lip. Her worry was present in the Force, but she kept herself calm and sure. Anakin couldn't help but wonder if she was doing it for his sake.

"So, when are you doing this?" Anakin asked softly.

"We're taking him in now," Master Che replied. "I'd suggest you both go home, get some sleep. I'll call you when it's done."

* * *

Neither Master nor Padawan got much sleep that night.

Anakin avoided walking into the kitchen, instead trekking to the refectory to get himself a cup of caf. Ahsoka walked beside him, completely silent and bleary.

Master Che hasn't called yet.

It's been _hours_.

"Can we just stop by the Ward, Master?" Ahsoka asked while they were leaving the refectory.

Anakin nodded.

Not long after they arrived, Master Che came out to speak to them.

"We finished the surgery a few hours ago," she said. "He's not awake yet. You're welcome to wait, but it might take him some time."

"We'll wait," Ahsoka replied immediately. Anakin nodded, mouth dry.

* * *

Obi-Wan woke a few hours later, but Master Che told Anakin and Ahsoka to come back the next day to visit him.

Anakin tried not to worry too much about that, but he wasn't very successful.

When he and Ahsoka arrived at the Healer's Ward the next day, he understood why.

"We got all of the tumor out," Master Che explained. "We will have to wait and see how he recovers, but for now, he is having problems with motor function. If it persists, I will definitely have to permanently pull him from being an active Jedi."

Anakin closed his eyes. This was not _fair_.

Ahsoka's right hand grabbed onto his flesh hand, and she squeezed it gently, reassuringly.

Right. Obi-Wan was alive; that was all that matters.

"Can we see him?" he asked finally.

* * *

Three weeks after his surgery, Obi-Wan was released from the Healer's to his apartment.

He would have preferred to walk out of the Ward on his own two feet, but walking didn't seem to agree with him. He agreed to use a hoverchair until he gained back enough strength and coordination to walk.

It would take a while, though.

Anakin walked quietly beside him, lost in thought.

"Are you alright?" Obi-Wan asked, looking up at him.

Anakin nodded.

"I'm sorry about all of this," Obi-Wan said.

"This isn't your fault, Master," Anakin replied, almost instantly. "You don't need to apologize."

Obi-Wan hummed and closed his eyes. It was good to finally be out of the Ward, even though he would be going there almost daily for the next two months, if not longer.

At first, he didn't take the news well. He was still a Jedi. That was all that mattered.

And even if he couldn't go back into the field and to the war effort as he did before, he could still plan and strategize. He could still do what he could to support the Republic.

In the end, this was the will of the Force, and maybe, just maybe, there was a reason for all of this.

* * *

Five months later, Anakin stood over the body of Chancellor Palpatine, who was revealed to be the Sith Master.

Obi-Wan was the one who discovered it. Anakin was away at the front, while Obi-Wan researched and spoke to politicians and the Council, trying to figure out the identity of the elusive Sith Lord.

It did not take him long to realize who it was.

It was Obi-Wan's idea to play for the Jedi into Palpatine's hand while discreetly removing the chips from the clones, to make it look like Palpatine still had control.

It was Obi-Wan's idea for Anakin to pretend to be too busy to visit the Chancellor when asked.

And when Obi-Wan found out about Anakin's marriage to Padmé, he only smiled and told Anakin that he should have invited him to the wedding.

Obi-Wan wasn't able to spar like he used to, but he gave Soresu lessons to the younglings, much to Master Drallig's delight. He taught classes to younglings and padawans. He was happier than Anakin's ever seen him.

The Force cleared as Sidious died, giving way into balance.

And though Anakin was the one who brought balance, it was under Obi-Wan's hope and guidance that it happened at all.

The Force thrived under the renewed balance, under the duality of Light and Dark.

And in the end, the balance of the Force brought hope, joy, and happiness to the galaxy.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think :)


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